Tag Archives: chemotherapy

Yes, that’s right! Even though the site I’m highlighting in this post is for young women under 54 who had breast cancer and are concerned about body image, please note those of us over 54 are also concerned about Body Image. No Surprise here! Read More

One of my friends was recently told two pieces of advice which could be true for some people, but not true for others. One of the things she was told to do was to buy a wig before starting chemotherapy treatments, although her hair may not fall out until around day 21.Read More

We have to listen to our bodies telling us what is & what is not essential for our health. We need to do this so we can stop giving our energy to everything and everybody. This Body Image & Healing Blog was created primarily for friends & family who are in support of women (some 50 and over) who have had or have breast cancer. “So why, you ask, are women 50 and older concerned with their body image?” “Because we’ve still got a body!”

We are concerned about how we look. Now, we are not necessarily swayed so much by what we see on television. We are not trying to fit into what a 20 or 30-year-old would wear. That does not mean we don’t care about how we look or how we carry ourselves. “And carry ourselves, we will.” smh

This leads to my second point. We know that we must keep moving. “Sitting is the new smoking.” Ideally, we should stand up every 30 minutes throughout the day. The ideal number of times to do this would be 12-15 times. I created my own standing desk with books and a wastebasket so I can stand and sit from time to time. This type of variety is needed since standing on your feet all day is not the best thing either. The surest way to the beginning of ill health for many of us, is to stop moving!

Try Carol Dweck’s Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

“What else are we concerned about?” Well, let’s try something new? We’re also concerned about how we think as we age. As our pastor said the other day “If you’re old, you’re not going to regress and get young, you’re going to stay old, but that doesn’t mean we have an old mind set.

“So what is an appropriate mindset for us?” “I don’t know.” Fifty or 60-years-old is not what your mother or grandmother thought when they were that same age.” “I think it’s what you think, what you believe, what you do!” We can do so much more! We can walk, we can keep ourselves active and we can keep our minds active! We can engage with people of ALL ages. Those are the kinds of things that keep us, okay, relatively young. It is not how quickly you come up with the answer that counts, but… (Check out the book.)

The Right Stuff!

We can eat right. We can have the right attitude. Even your attitude about what you eat while you are eating it, affects your body and the processing of that food. That matters! In Dr. Christiane Northrup’s book, Making Life Easy: A Simple Guide to A Divinely Inspired Life, she talks about an experiment with rabbits, who were fed all types of things making them prone to heart disease. They followed the rabbits for several weeks. But the researcher began to notice one group, even though they ate like the other rabbits ate, didn’t have the same issues. This, of course, was after they examined the tissues and arteries. These little rascals were healthier.

The critical question was “Why would they be healthier? They were healthier because the researcher talked to Val who said she played with them when she took them out of their little cages and even talked to them. Yes, the more fun you have, the less stress you may have and it may clear out some of the negatives going on in and around you. Now, it’s not going to erase all the bad things you may be doing or eating or stressing out about. But it really could make a difference in your life.

What Counts?

So, what are you going to do now? Well, for Lent I decided to eat differently, not too far from what I normally do, but enough for it to cause a little discomfort, like no added sugar. And I am going to stay focused on the positive and reduce some of my negative thoughts about a couple of issues. (That doesn’t mean you should try to tempt me.) Lastly, I am going to increase my meditation/exercise routines. That should keep me busy for the next few weeks. These are items I want to continue to have in my life. They are not just for this season. So what counts? Whatever you are doing that will last beyond this sacred time.

(P.S. I’ve got to write shorter posts, this one was waaaaay too long.)

My Loctician, April can do amazing things with locs! Little did I know when she told me to save my locs, there was a bigger reason. When I lost my locks in 2010, she cut them off and the barber shaved my head. At that time my locs were about 7-12 inches long.Read More

Going to the wig store with Patricia, who claims she is not an extrovert, who always had spare hair at that time, was an adventure! Going anywhere with Patricia is always fun! We have known each other since high school (Little Rock Central). No, we were not part of the Little Rock nine – we aren’t quite that old. Anyway, we met here in Charlotte, after not Read More

As we approach this Thanksgiving, I am reminded of what I had going on six years ago. My locks fell out (due to chemo) just about a week before Thanksgiving. I had already purchased a wig with the help of my BFF Pat (I’ll tell you about that crazy adventure later). I wore the wig a couple of times, but after what happened during those wig wearing adventures, I nixed the wig and decided to go to Lynette’s house (my other BFF) sans wig. I also decided to take our church picture with a bald head.I guess I need to add a part about what happened to me one of the two times I wore a wig.

We were going on vacation and I was dropped off to check the luggage in while Edward parked the car. When they weighed my bag it was over the limit by 5-6 pounds. The guy on the outside check in asked me to pay the extra or remove some items. I opted to remove some items, but I was weak and struggling to do so. Finally, I got enough out and we zipped the bag up and I went inside and sat down to wait on him to come from parking the car.Now, my husband travels and is one of those folks who eases through the line, whereas, I people watch and talk to folks, etc. When we were checking in for the flight somehow Edward was ahead of me and a family of 5 got between us. He looked back and I signaled for him to go on. When I got to the gate check-in area, the lady said my bag looked like it was too big for the overhead space. I had flown with it before and it fit, but I tried to fit it into the metal sizer outside the gate and it did not fit. I was a bit frustrated but said okay, I would check the bag. I then remembered that I had medical supplies to clear the pic line in the bag. I asked about temperature changes where the bags were stored and was advised to remove any medical supplies. I had to open now another bag and remove items.

I really wanted to rip the wig off and say, “Listen, I have breast cancer, I am undergoing chemotherapy, I am weak and tired give me a break!” But I didn’t. I unpacked the items needed and finally boarded the plane. When I got on board Edward said “Where’s your bag?” I said, “I checked it” and looked out the window.

Maybe I had been through so much that I just figured it was better to have folks see my bald head and think something might be going on with me, rather than have people think everything was just great and not have the strength to even clap my hands.

Back to the story. I didn’t wear my wig to Lynetta’s. I felt comfortable doing so. It was the first time the Thanksgiving celebrants had seen me without hair. I was not apprehensive about not having hair and being there, since it was all friends, family, fellowship and fun! I was thankful that Thanksgiving day, as I continue to be for having friends and being around family – hair or no hair! Because of that, I’m posting that wigless picture taken approximately 6 years ago. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!